"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."
Edmund Burke. What happened on this Day in History?

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

This Day in WWII History: Feb 19, 1945: Marines invade Iwo Jima

On this day, Operation Detachment, the U.S. Marines'
invasion of Iwo Jima, is launched. Iwo Jima was a barren Pacific island
guarded by Japanese artillery, but to American military minds, it was
prime real estate on which to build airfields to launch bombing raids
against Japan, only 660 miles away.

The Americans began applying
pressure to the Japanese defense of the island in February 1944, when
B-24 and B-25 bombers raided the island for 74 days. It was the longest
pre-invasion bombardment of the war, necessary because of the extent to
which the Japanese--21,000 strong--fortified the island, above and below
ground, including a network of caves.

Underwater demolition teams
("frogmen") were dispatched by the Americans just before the actual
invasion. When the Japanese fired on the frogmen, they gave away many of
their "secret" gun positions.

The amphibious landings of Marines
began the morning of February 19 as the secretary of the navy, James
Forrestal, accompanied by journalists, surveyed the scene from a command
ship offshore. As the Marines made their way onto the island, seven
Japanese battalions opened fire on them.

By evening, more than 550
Marines were dead and more than 1,800 were wounded. The capture of Mount
Suribachi, the highest point of the island and bastion of the Japanese
defense, took four more days and many more casualties.

When the American
flag was finally raised on Iwo Jima, the memorable image was captured
in a famous photograph that later won the Pulitzer Prize.